Friday, July 17, 2015

Learning about France

I think I gained weight in just the past two weeks. Curse you, tasty French food!

Here are some of the things we did to learn about France this summer:
  • Learned about life in France from my niece, who recently returned from an LDS mission in France and Belgium.
  • Set up a playdate for my daughter with a French friend from school.
  • Did some ballet, taught by my talented sister who majored in dance long ago.
  • Listened to French impressionistic music while viewing slides of French Impressionists' art and painting at the kitchen table.
  • Went to a French bistro and ate croissants and snails. Dd10, dd8, and dd5 all ate the escargot and liked it.
  • Read and watched Madeline books/shows.
  • Read library books about France. You Wouldn't Want to Be an Aristocrat in the French Revolution!: A Horrible Time in Paris You'd Rather Avoid was a favorite of the older girls.
  • Ate a lot of Nutella and some French cheeses.
  • Watched non-fiction videos on Amazon Prime about children living in France.
  • Invited a college student to dinner so she could tell us about her recent study abroad experience in France and show us her souvenirs.
  • Made or bought, then ate apple galette, ratatouille, macarons (not to be confused with macaroons), croque monsieur sandwiches, French bread and baguettes, quiche, chocolate sandwiches (yes, pieces of bread with chocolate between), and several rich dishes seasoned with garlic and herbes de provence.
  • Watched Phantom of the Opera, Aristocats, and Ratatouille.
Macaron cookies. Not sufficiently cylindrical, unfortunately. 

I feel fortunate to have many relatives and acquaintances who can help me teach my children about other countries. Traveling abroad with a large family is prohibitively expensive, so I appreciate everyone that helps fill our home-bound summer country studies with authentic experiences related to those countries. 

I also greatly appreciate the food bloggers and recipe posters and reviewers who make it possible for me to cook Yemeni, French, Lithuanian, Peruvian, and Taiwanese dishes almost immediately.

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